Sydney Cup

Ladbrokes Tip: The Chairman’s Handicap has produced more Sydney Cup winners than any other lead-up race

The 2026 Sydney Cup took place at Royal Randwick on Saturday, April 11, 2026 as part of Day 2 of ‘The Championships’ and was won in a major boilover, with the Kris Lees‑trained Changingoftheguard ($51) leading throughout for a stunning all‑the‑way upset. 

2026 Sydney Cup Results

The 2026 Sydney Cup results and finishing order will be confirmed on Saturday, April 11, 2026 and announced below as soon as available.

Kris Lees’ Galileo seven-year-old Changingoftheguard ($51) was enormous up in trip on the quick back-up leading all-the-way for an upset 2026 Sydney Cup result for the ages. Rated to perfection by jockey Jason Collett, the galloper hit the front early from a good gate three draw and never relinquished his lead holding on to deny the fast-finishing Soul Of Spain with the still untapped Adelaide Cup runner-up Highland Bling in third.

2026 Sydney Cup Odds

The Sydney Cup 2026 betting odds will be published below as soon as markets on the Group 1 two-mile classic are open.

Sydney Cup Tips

Sydney Cup tips favour proven stayers with good lead-up form at Randwick or Rosehill, especially those that ran well in the previous weekend’s Chairman’s Handicap.

Horses carrying between 52kg and 55.5kg also make for a top Sydney Cup tip with only three winners since 2000 carrying more than that to victory with Gallic (56kg in 2007), Mourayan (58kg in 2013), and Arapaho (56kg in 2025). 

Three-year-olds have poor form in the race with just two wins since 1983 most recently Tie The Knot (1998) for his first, while the last mare to win was Jessicabeel (2010).

2026 Sydney Cup Tips

Our Ladbrokes’ exclusive Sydney Cup 2026 betting tips and exotic selections on the two-mile autumn classic will be detailed below the week of the race so stay tuned for the stayers to back and sack in this year’s Sydney Cup trifecta.

The Sydney Cup is one of four Group 1 Sydney Autumn Racing Carnival features held on Day 2 of The Championships at Royal Randwick Racecourse on the second Saturday in April each season.

The meeting’s headline race is also the The Championship’s richest – the Group 1 $5 million Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m). The Sydney Cup is another lucrative clash offering a total of $2 million in prize money including $1.2 million to the Sydney Cup winner.

In 2020 the Sydney Cup prize money was reduced to $1 million with $580,000 for the winner due to the COVID-19 pandemic but returned to $2 million for the 2021 edition.

Run over 3200m the two-mile classic is held over the same distance as the ‘race that stops a nation’ – the Group 1 Melbourne Cup at Flemington on the first Tuesday of November in the spring. Stayers in the Sydney Cup field face off under handicap conditions with the lowest handicap weight being 50kgs, or 48kgs for the three-year-olds. Winners of the Chipping Norton Stakes and Tancred Stakes (formerly The BMW) are exempt from Sydney Cup ballot.

The traditional lead-up to the Sydney Cup is the Group 2 Chairman’s Handicap (2600m) run the previous Saturday and that also offers a ballot and penalty exemption for the Group 1 back at the track the following weekend.

The latest horses to complete the Chairman’s Handicap – Sydney Cup double are the Gai Waterhouse-trained The Offer (2014) and the Ciaron Maher-trained Circle Of Fire (2024).

Sydney Cup Race Info

• Date: Saturday, April 11, 2026
• Track: Royal Randwick Racecourse
• Distance: 3200m
• Conditions: Handicap
• Status: Group 1
• Prize Money: $2 million
• First Run: 1862

Sydney Cup Betting

Sydney Cup betting is led each year by the best performing stayers in the Chairman’s Handicap held only seven days earlier on Day 1 of The Championships.

Horses that ran in the first four in their lead-up runs have a top record in the classic and so always feature highly up the Sydney Cup odds as do gallopers with proven two-mile form.

Only four Sydney Cup winners since 1983 have come off a lead-up run outside of Sydney with the former Kiwi-trained mare Etah James (2020) having run fourth in the Auckland Cup across the Tasman, the UK raider Polarisation (2017), Adelaide Cup winner Gallic (2007), and Mr. Prudent (2001) who ran third in a Melbourne Group 3 at Caulfield.

Sydney Cup favourites have a solid record in the race over the past decade with seven saluting for the punters from 2005 – 2025 most recently Circle Of Fire ($5.50 in 2024).

Older gallopers also run well in the race with seven seven-year-old winners including Etah James (2020), Knights Order (2022) and Changingoftheguard (2026); two eight-year-old veterans most recently Arapaho (2025); and Who Shot The Barman (2018) winning at nine years of age from 2006 – 2025.

There was a notable upset in 2021 with Selino saluting at 25/1 to hand trainer Chris Waller a fifth win in the two-mile classic.

In 2023 there was another upset with Explosive Jack winning at Sydney Cup odds of $26. He defeated fellow roughies True Marvel ($151) and the previous year’s champ Knights Order ($16) in a lucrative Sydney Cup trifecta.

The Sydney Cup 2025 winner also jumped at big odds with Arapaho ($20). 

In 2026 Changingoftheguard scored at a huge Sydney Cup starting price of $51.

Sydney Cup Field

The Sydney Cup race field attracts the season’s best stayers coming out of the Chairman’s Handicap the previous weekend also held at Randwick.

The Chairman’s Handicap has produced more Sydney Cup winners than any other lead-up race with The Offer (2014) and Circle Of Fire (2024) the latest to do the double.

Changingoftheguard (9th in 2026) was the last Sydney Cup winner on the quick back-up out of the Chairman’s Quality.

Earlier, Rosehill’s Group 3 Sky High Stakes (2000m) held in March can be a solid Sydney Cup lead-up but Country Tyrone (2006) was the last to do the double.

The Group 3 NE Manion Cup (2400m) at Rosehill on Golden Slipper Day is another early Sydney Cup lead-up with The Offer (2014) the last to win both races in the same year.

Victorian gallopers meanwhile may have a lead-up into the Sydney Cup field via the Listed Mornington Cup (2400m) in late March.

Sydney Cup nominations close on a Tuesday in early February before first acceptances are taken a month later.

The final Sydney Cup field of acceptors and barrier draw are then out on the Tuesday before the race and often attracts horses that have previous two-mile form in races like the Adelaide Cup in March and the spring’s iconic Melbourne Cup.

2026 Sydney Cup Field

The Sydney Cup 2026 field and barrier draw will be announced by Racing NSW on the Tuesday leading up to race day and published in full below.

The 2026 Sydney Cup final field features 16 class stayers led in betting by the widely drawn Ciaron Maher-trained NE Manion Cup champ Mr Monaco.

Randwick R7 - Schweppes Sydney Cup (G1)

Final Race time: 

	Entrant	Last 6	Sex	Barrier	Weight
	1. River Of Stars J: James McDonald T: Chris Waller	24x044	M	5	56.5kg
	2. Campaldino (14)  Scratched:
	3. Changingoftheguard J: Jason Collett T: Kris Lees	69x699	G	3	55.5kg
	4. Soul Of Spain J: Tommy Berry T: Chris Waller	3x9426	G	11	54.5kg
	5. Whisky On The Hill J: Damian Lane T: Glen Thompson	1x5661	G	13	54.5kg
	6. Valiant King J: Jye Mcneil T: Chris Waller	30x867	G	10	54.5kg
	7. Paradise Storm (4)  Scratched:
	8. Piggyback J: Zac Lloyd T: Ciaron Maher	8x5145	M	7	53kg
	9. Athabascan J: Tom Sherry T: Tom Charlton	0x0285	G	4	53kg
	10. Juja Kibo J: Craig Williams T: Ciaron Maher	3x9333	G	9	52kg
	11. Mr Monaco J: Jamie Melham T: Ciaron Maher	81x511	G	14	52kg
	12. Machine Gun Gracie J: Luke Cartwright T: Ben, Will & Jd Hayes	x44x91	M	8	51kg
	13. Newlook J: Rachel King T: Trent Busuttin & Natalie Young	80x551	G	1	51kg
	14. Litzdeel J: Tyler Schiller T: Danny O'brien	21x022	M	6	51kg
	15. Highland Bling J: Ben Thompson T: Phillip Stokes	12x522	G	2	51kg
	16. Hutchence J: Alysha Collett T: Chris Waller	7x0579	G	12	51kg

View Results

2026 Sydney Cup Nominations

The 2026 Sydney Cup nominations close on Tuesday the 10th of February 2026. 

The Sydney Cup 2026 nominations drew 80 autumn stayers with betting on the two-mile classic currently led by the Chris Waller-trained Caulfield Cup third placegetter from the spring Valiant King.

2026 Sydney Cup First Acceptances

Sydney Cup first acceptances are taken in early March a month after the original nominations and about four weeks out from race day.

The 2026 Sydney Cup first acceptances close at 12:00pm (local Sydney time) on Tuesday the 10th of March 2026. 

Sydney Cup Form Guide

The Sydney Cup form guide gives punters all the information they need pre-betting including the trainers, jockeys, weights and barriers for all the horses in the field.

Looking at the Sydney Cup lead-up form is important with gallopers that finished top four in their final lead-up runs dominating the race, while the Chairman’s Handicap is the best form line for the two-mile showdown.

Trainer Chris Waller has prepared five Sydney Cup winners in the past decade with Stand To Gain (2011), Grand Marshal (2015), Who Shot Thebarman (2018), Shraaoh (2019), and Selino (2021).

Jim Cassidy is the leading Sydney Cup jockey with three winning rides to date including on the Chris Waller-trained 40/1 roughie Grand Marshal (2015).

The 2022 Sydney Cup form was franked with Knights Order coming back that spring to place third in the Group 1 Caulfield Cup (2400m).

Sydney Cup Form Facts

• The only Sydney Cup winners to finish worse than fourth in their lead-up run since 2006 are Stand To Gain (2011), Explosive Jack (Tancred Stakes 10th in 2023) and Changingoftheguarde (Chairman’s Quality 9th in 2026).
• Only five mares have beaten the boys in the Sydney Cup results in the past 30 years most recently Etah James (2020) and Jessicabeel (2010) a decade apart.
• Five-year-olds won seven of the editions of the Sydney Cup from 2011 – 2026 most recently Explosive Jack (2023).
• In the years from 2008 – 2026 six favourites in Sydney Cup betting saluted for the punters.
• The longest priced Sydney Cup winners in the past 30 years were Just A Dancer ($41 in 1991), Grand Marshal ($41 in 2015) and Changingoftheguard ($51 in 2026).
• Barrier eight has produced the most Sydney Cup winners (since 1983) with 10.

2026 Sydney Cup Form Guide

A link to our comprehensive Sydney Cup 2026 Form Guide will be provided for punters below the week of the race.

CLICK HERE FOR OUR FULL 2026 SYDNEY CUP FORM GUIDE

Sydney Cup Records

Below we take a look at some of the Sydney Cup race records like what horse has run the fastest time in the Sydney Cup.

Sydney Cup Race Record: Arapaho set the new record in 2025 winning in 3 minutes 18.31 seconds. 

Heaviest Weight Carried to Victory (since 1970): My Good Man (60kg in 1978)

Lightest Weight Carried to Victory (since 1970): Palace Revolt (48.5kg in 1989)

Past Sydney Cup Results

Sydney Cup race results in the past 10 years have been dominated by the favourites.

The longest priced Sydney Cup winners in that time however were Changingoftheguard ($51 in 2026), Arapaho ($20 in 2025), Explosive Jack ($26 in 2023), Selino ($26 in 2021), Grand Marshall ($41 in 2015), and Stand To Gain ($21 in 2011) so upsets are also not uncommon.

Some of the most noteworthy Sydney Cup winners in the past 30 years include The Offer (2014), Jessicabeel (2010), and Makybe Diva (2004).

Recent Sydney Cup Winners

Recent Sydney Cup winners and placegetters going back to 2000 are detailed in the below table.

Year	Winner	Runner-Up	Third	Time
2026	Changingoftheguard	Soul Of Spain	Highland Bling	3:23.27
2025	Arapaho	Waltham	River Of Stars	3:18.31 (R)
2024	Circle Of Fire	Athabascan	Kalapour	3:20.89
2023	Explosive Jack	True Marvel	Knights Order	3:26.9
2022	Knights Order	Sheraz	Daqiansweet Junior	3:32.2
2021	Selino	Rondinella	Miami Bound	3:23.1
2020	Etah James	The Chosen One	Raheen House	3:28.4
2019	Shraaoh	Vengeur Masque	Glory Days	3:22.0
2018	Who Shot Thebarman	Zacada	Sir Charles Road	3:20.0
2017	Polarisation	Who Shot Thebarman	Big Duke	3:29.1
2016	Gallante	Libran	Grand Marshal	3:24.5
2015	Grand Marshal	Who Shot Thebarman	Like A Carousel	3:24.7
2014	The Offer	Opinion	Sertorius	3:23.8
2013	Mourayan	Norsqui	Aliyana Tilde	3:24.2
2012	Niwot	Efficient	Once Were Wild	3:20.4
2011	Stand To Gain	Older Than Time	Solid Billing	3:29.1
2010	Jessicabeel	Divine Rebel	Harris Tweed	3:21.8
2009	Ista Kareem	Divine Rebel	Mr Tipsy	3:27.4
2008	No Wine No Song	Pentathon	Lang	3:25.5
2007	Gallic	Irazu	No Wine No Song	3:27.3
2006	County Tyrone	Zabeat	Three Chimneys	3:22.6
2005	Mahtoum	County Tyrone	Philosophe	3:27.6
2004	Makybe Diva	Manawa King	Mummify	3:21.2
2003	Honor Babe	County Tyrone	Grey Song	3:30.5
2002	Henderson Bay	Mr. Prudent	Spirit of Westbury	3:26.7
2001	Mr. Prudent	Prophet’s Kiss	Starina	3:26.9
2000	Streak	Sharscay	Ears’ Ronny	3:30.3

FAQ

Who won the 2026 Sydney Cup?

The 2026 Sydney Cup was won by seven-year-old Galileo gelding Changingoftheguard at $51 for trainer Kris Lees with jockey Jason Collett aboard on 55.5kg from barrier 3 to win by 0.26 lengths on a Good (4) track in a time of 3:23.27.

Who won the 2025 Sydney Cup?

The 2025 Sydney Cup was won by eight-year-old Lope De Vega gelding Arapaho at $20 for trainer Bjorn Baker with jockey Rachel King aboard on 56kg from barrier 11 to win by 2.95 lengths in a race record time of 3:18.31.

When is the Sydney Cup 2026?

Saturday, April 11, 2026

What is the prize money for the Sydney Cup 2026?

$2,000,000

Where is the Sydney Cup 2026?

Randwick Racecourse, Alison Rd, Randwick NSW 2031.

How do I bet on the 2026 Sydney Cup?

Bet online or via the latest iOS/Android apps with Ladbrokes.
The first step is to create an account at ladbrokes.com.au. The process is quick and easy!
Once you've created your account you can make a deposit via credit card, or any other of our secure payment methods.
Next up, head to the racing page and find the race and runner that's right for you.

Which horse will win the 2026 Sydney Cup?

The best way to pick which horse will win the Sydney Cup is to take into account the form, assess the barriers, and consider the weight the horse will carry (among other factors). Check out ladbrokes.com.au in the lead up to the race for full form information.